Fabio Capello’s England play a friendly against France at Wembley a week on Wednesday. The Italian is facing a dilemma over his striking options with Wayne Rooney, Jermaine Defoe and Bobby Zamora out injured. The Championship topscorer Jay Bothroyd’s name is being taken for the England call up in the media. Newcastle’s Andy Carrol deserves it more as his performances in the top flight of England have proved that the young lad can mix it up with some of the best players in the country.
But one name that has not been mentioned so far for the England call up is Carrol’s team mate Kevin Nolan.The 6ft attacking midfielder has scored 7 goals in 9 appearances for his team this season, joint top scorer in the league along with Tevez and Malouda. The Geordies will be expecting the same from him in the season to come and against Arsenal this weekend..His goal scoring record for an attacking midfielder is phenomenal. Even Frank Lampard would be proud of it. The Ex Bolton man scored 18 goals for Newcastle last season in the Championship. Even if he doesn’t deserve a long rum in the team, his efforts must be rewarded with an England call up. The other Kevin was lucky to be included in the England squad and make his debut last time around, Kevin Davies of Bolton, but Nolan has the most important feature to back his claim which is his performance.The lad has everything. Pace, composure and versatility. He also has a tremendous attitude toward the game. In the words of Britain’s top sports journalist Henry Winter :“Kevin Nolan, midfielder, goalscorer, captain, landlord…utterly immense for Newcastle United.”When Fabio Capello took over the England hot seat, he made it clear that he’d pick players based on form. But not selecting Adam Johnson and Walcott for the World Cup and taking Emile Heskey and Jamie Carragher to South Africa did not only prove to be catastrophic for the 3 lions but it also contradicted his statement of selecting players based on form.
Now the biggest question is where would Kevin Nolan fit in the England team?
He plays in a similar position for Newcastle which Gerrard plays for England. And the only way he could make his way in the England team is when Gerrard is injured or not performing. At the moment he can be selected as Gerrard’s deputy and be a squad player. With Frank Lampard coming back after a hernia operation, Nolan is the best available option for England to replace Gerrard. The upcoming friendly at Wembley against France is probably the best time to check if Nolan can jell with the England team.
Every footballer has a dream of representing his country at the national level and there could not be a bigger reward for Kevin Nolan than an England call up.